Normally I would have a post or 10 in but I'm in a hurry! I just recently picked up a 1987 RX, for $150 (+20 for a battery). It's a fixer upper, no doubts about it. Inside and out it's ugly, major paint oxidation outside, moist mildewy-moldiness on the inside. The engine (which to my surprise actually did run) wasn't in the greatest shape. So my goal is to revive and clean up this little gem. On the way back to my place, I discovered that it didn't like running.....at all. Into the 3.2+k rpm range the turbo kicks in, only to let off a gigantic whoosh. This would be good and all, expept I'm not getting any power, quite the opposite, the engine starts to drown itself (climbing hills....sucked) I'm new to turbo setups and even newer to Subie's. I was thinking the wastegate could be stuck wide open (no boost) but aren't sure as to how to go about fixing it. I would get a manual but none of the local shops (local in 35miles) has one. Any idea's? Thanks for any replies!

I would start looking at the obvious stuff first like...

-Vaccum hoses(cracks or broken ones or something disconnected.)

-Air intake clamps(all tight)

-nothing out of place or totally wrong.

 

Will probly take a while hunting down the vac hoses but worth looking at.Also check the air and fuel filters and that should start getting you in the right direction.

Could you Post some Pics of your RX?

 

 

Yes, Vacuum Hoses is a Good Idea to Start, Belts, Fuel Filter & Pump, Spark Plugs, etc...

 

Good Luck!

sounds a lot like a clamp loose on the intake betwen the turbo and throttle body. mine did that to me once on the highway, took me 20 minutes of searching to look at the plenum where itmounts to the throttle body, it had popped out when i was getting onto the highway.

I was going to buy that car today!!! If you change your mind about keeping it, let me know!

Think I found my idle problem. A hose was disconnected from the intake which lends itself to the "whooshing" I described as shown here:

 

 

as for a pictar of the car, here's a quicky (I'll get more later)

 

nice score. You are probably aware that the suspension and transmission/differential are desireable by themselves if you decide the car's not worth restoring..

also, that's not an "official" RX but it's close enough! good luck

Hence the "sorta" in my title. Took 'er out, after reconnecting the line and plugging a vacuum line (was dangling, couldn't find the source) and man she goes....like mad. boost is strong, startled me atfirst. Next up, filters, sparkplugs, windshield. Well i'm off to work for now.

holy wow, i was right, it was the plenum. lol. go me:lol:

wait until you chop out the bottom of the airfilter box. That thing will rip your damn pants off!

Still wrangling with what it actually is :\ According to the vin I have, it's a Subaru GL, but can't seem to find anything that resembles it, I found it quite striking as it looked like an RX. I do know it's made in Japan that's about the most useful piece of information I've gotten so far.

My understanding is that "RX" is basically a trim level, and most "RX"s are the hatchback coupe body like yours. The fact that it is a "GL" model means only that it isnt "RX." "Quasi" RX or "RX... sorta" IS the typical designation

 

Any 3-door that isnt an RX is called a GL.. just like the wagons and the sedans.

In 1987 the "RX" designation goes a little bit above "trim level"

 

as it had

different struts

"""" springs

"" anti sway bars

"""" transaxle

(ie it was the only true shift on the fly

10 speed sold at the time)

"" tranfer case

"" body kit

""" interior (Fnt seats)

Plus all had LSD rear diff and the EA82T.

 

All told I guess you could say "trim level".

Trim packages asside, I've got a new problem, it's running hard, almost lopsided. It's still got power, but at idle it wobbles the entire car. This is my first flat, the wobble feels weird to me. Spark plugs/wires not firing able to cause this? (plus it sounds like it's only firing on one side, perhaps on 3 cylinders).

Yeah, I went wrong in saying "basically a trim level" but my point was, it says GL because thats the model it is.. RX does not mean three door coupe, the three door coupe body style came in the same kinds of packages that the other vehicles did.

 

Thanks for spelling the difference out for me where *I* grossly over-generalized. I haven't really been around long enough to know the substantial differences well enough to quote them yet :-p

 

Back to the actual car, try pulling spark plug wires one at a time to see if any cylinder is NOT missed.. if you pull a plug wire and the engine doesnt run much much poorer, then that cylinder is already doing nothing. if all four plug wires drastically effect run condition, it is not a specific cylinder and more likely to be a fuel/ignition problem.

Not sure about springs, but it does have front and rear sway bars, and the seats, well they're ugly and cup you.....really really well. gonna check the plugs tomorrow.

check the passenger side timing belt, those can break and the car will still run on 2 clylinders!

the motor or trans mounts might be shot. Pitch stopper too.

Isn't a RX a G56 in the vin and his is probably a G55?

When I posted the RX....sorta, it was due to the fact that this is the second subaru of this particular body style I had ever seen in this area, upon searching the web the onlything I could find matching the body style, full time 4wd and turbo was a RX.

 

Performance wise, I checked the plugs, they were all good, no excessive build up (smidgen bit of carbon from running) all perfectly gapped. put everything in and it went on as normal. I finally got around to checking the air filter...It has holes in it. So that's getting replaced along with the fuel filter and oil filter (when I actually get around to changing it)

My understanding is that "RX" is basically a trim level, and most "RX"s are the hatchback coupe body like yours. The fact that it is a "GL" model means only that it isnt "RX." "Quasi" RX or "RX... sorta" IS the typical designation

 

Any 3-door that isnt an RX is called a GL.. just like the wagons and the sedans.

 

Remember: There´s a "RS" Designation of that Coupes, and "Omega" too...

Air filter:

 

It was virtually black on the other side. after replacing it, it sounds better (not top notch but it's doing better) the throttle is also a bit more responsive.

When I posted the RX....sorta, it was due to the fact that this is the second subaru of this particular body style I had ever seen in this area, upon searching the web the onlything I could find matching the body style, full time 4wd and turbo was a RX.

 

 

We are just having something of a semantic discussion about the cars here in your thread. Sorry for the way it steered your thread a little off-course

 

Back on topic, it is good to see that the basic tune-up items are making a difference. Might I suggest you pick up some sea-foam and run it through your cylinder top end?

 

http://www.seafoamsales.com/motorTuneUpTechGas.htm

 

They don't seem to mention it on this link, but the best way to run it is by sucking it up into the intake manifold through a vacuum line, then letting it sit. The directions are on the can.

So far this car has had lots of small issues, the latest? The Autozone fuel filter sprang a leak. I thought it was funny I kept smelling gas but couldn't find a source. I checked the lines and tank, couldn't find anything. So while I performed the usual "replace all filters" maneuver, I noticed a small puddle of gas on the filter (and a small trail leading down the side of the engine bay. So tomorrow I go off in persuit of a new filter. Just out of curiosity, what's the lowest octane that one would recommend for a, mostly stock (from what i can tell) GL turbo? I went with 92 just to safe, but that's a bit spendy over here.

Oh yeah, does anyone have a sound clip of an ea82 running at idle that I can compare mine to? I'm wanting to know if there are any noises that shouldn't be there